THE LEGAL PROCESS

If you have been charged with an offence, or are under investigation by the police, you should contact a criminal lawyer immediately.

A lawyer can explain your rights, help you navigate the criminal justice system, and offer you legal advice about your case or your interactions with the police.

If you are under investigation, a lawyer may be able to obtain more information about the investigation or negotiate a time and place for you to surrender if necessary. While some officers are not willing to discuss cases with criminal lawyers, contacting a lawyer will allow you to better understand your rights. If the police intend to detain you, a lawyer can also help you make vital arrangements that may secure your release.

If you’ve been arrested or are under investigation, you should remain silent until you have consulted with a lawyer. You have a constitutional right to remain silent and no one can force you to speak. If arrested, you must provide the police with your name, birthdate, and the name of your legal counsel, but you are not required to answer any questions or give any statements about the alleged crime.

Anything you say can be used against you in court: but your silence cannot be used against you later.

If you are facing incarceration, and you financially qualify, you may be eligible for assistance from Legal Aid. You can contact Legal Aid at 1-800-668-8258. You may need a document called an Adult Charge Screening Form as part of the application. This is provided to you as part of the Disclosure from the Crown. This document tells Legal Aid what sentence the Crown is looking for with an early guilty plea along with any court orders they would be seeking.

If you do not qualify for Legal Aid, our office can offer monthly payment plans to accommodate your financial circumstances.

The police have a great deal of discretionary power about whether to release or hold an accused person after they have been arrested. If they decide to release you, you will be provided with a court date, and a date to take your fingerprints. Upon release, you will be given certain conditions that you must follow, violating these may lead to additional charges.

If the police decide to hold you, your case will be reviewed by the Crown. The Crown will decide whether they will agree to release you on specific conditions, or if they will try to hold you in custody until your case resolves.

to detain you the Crown must justify your detention. They may argue:

1. That you pose a flight risk, or your detention is needed to ensure your attendance in court.

2. There is a substantial likelihood that you will re-offend, or your detention is necessary for the protection of the public including witnesses.

3. Releasing you would negatively affect the public’s confidence in the justice system.

Whatever they decide, you must be brought before a Justice of the Peace within 24 hours of your arrest, and the Justice makes the ultimate decision. A lawyer can help by having preliminary discussions with the Crown, and by arguing your case in front of the Justice of the Peace. In certain circumstances, a bail hearing may be a reverse onus hearing, meaning you must prove to the court that you should be released.

Contested bail hearings are usually between ninety minutes and two hours. In some jurisdictions, these are conducted on the same day or the day following your arrest. In other jurisdictions, these hearings are booked after an initial appearance before a Justice of the Peace.

At a bail hearing, a Justice of the Peace will decide whether you should be held in custody while you await your trial. A bail hearing is one of the most important events in the criminal justice process because your liberty is at stake. Preparing for a bail hearing involves contacting sureties, preparing for court by coming up with a bail plan that addresses the grounds for detention, and presenting evidence to the court.

A guilty plea and sentencing hearing occur when an accused person admits to the facts alleged by the Crown and takes responsibility for the offence her or she has committed. To be a permissible plea, the accused must enter the plea voluntarily. He or she must be prepared to admit the essential elements of the offence and be properly informed of the nature and consequences of pleading guilty. An accused must understand and agree that the facts support the charge and that the court is not bound by any agreement made by prosecutor and defence, if such an agreement applies.

These hearings are conducted in front of a Judge, who makes a formal finding of guilty. The Judge then imposes a sentence they find appropriate after hearing arguments from the Crown and the Defence about your circumstances, the circumstances of the offence, and other relevant factors that may apply. Accused persons often plead guilty after a more favourable outcome is negotiated with the Crown at a meeting called a Crown Pretrial (CPT). This could involve pleading to a lesser charge or receiving a more lenient sentence than would likely be imposed after trial.

Pleading guilty may result in a criminal record, and may carry immigration and/or driving consequences. It is a serious decision that can have long-term consequences affecting your employment, housing, and travel opportunities.

A trial is a formal court process aimed at determining whether an accused person is guilty of the offences they are charged with.

At your trial, a Judge will make findings of fact and either acquit you (find you not guilty) or find you guilty. To make this finding, the Judge will weigh and consider the evidence. Finding an accused person guilty requires that the Judge is convinced of your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a higher standard than probable guilt but less than absolute certainty.

At trial, your lawyer tests the evidence against you. This involves challenging witnesses through cross-examination, pointing out the flaws in the Crown’s case, and may involve calling Defence evidence for the judge to consider.

After the evidence of the case is heard, the Defence and Crown will make submissions about the case. The ultimate decision rests with the Judge after they consider the evidence and the submissions of counsel.

If you are acquitted, the matter ends. If you are found guilty, the judge will impose a sentence they deem fit.